A book review blog that features historical fiction and cozy mysteries with a little bit of everything in between....

Monday, January 20, 2014

Review: Home for the Haunting by Juliet Blackwell

Description (from cover):

'No good deed goes unpunished...

San Francisco contractor Mel Turner is leading a volunteer home renovation project, and while she expects lots of questions from her inexperienced crew, she can't help asking a few of her own--especially about the haunted house next door...the place local kids call the Murder House.

But when volunteers discover a body while cleaning out a shed, questions pile up faster than discarded lumber. Mel notices signs of ghostly activity next door and she wonders: Are the Murder House ghosts reaching out to her for help, or has the house claimed another victim?

Now, surprised to find herself as the SFPD's unofficial 'ghost consultant,' Mel must investigate murders both past and present before a spooky killer finished another job.'

My thoughts:

I am not quite sure why my attention span with this book was so short. I am sure being in Cancun, Mexico had a lot to do with it, but this book wasn't up to the caliber as the other books in this series. I loved this series because it had a character who could see ghosts. That's what initially caused me to like this series. However, this book really doesn't focus on this main point of this series and I think that is why I didn't enjoy it as much as the others. Normally in this series, Mel can see and hear ghosts and every house that she is working on, has a ghost story. Usually, we see more of her talents, but in this book it was scaled back a ton and I really missed it. It just lacked the feeling that is so present in all of the other books.

I pray that this isn't the beginning of a good series going to seed. I love the characters and the ghost theme seems to be a huge interest for me all of a sudden. What I would love to see more of, of course, is ghosts and the mysteries surrounding their death. This book does have that, but for some reason it just didn't feel right. Also, Mel's romantic life is a little annoying in this one. Just make a decision, stick to it and move on. I hate indecisiveness in characters and Mel has it in droves in this book. Also, it was really hard for me to keep up with who was who. There were a lot of characters in this book to keep up with and it made it a little confusing.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the mystery element of this book. I would have to say that, unfortunately, this one is probably my least favorite out of this series. It's not a bad book. The writing is good, the mystery is there, it just doesn't stand out to me. I was disappointed in this book, but I am hoping the next one is better. I hate to see a favorite series of mine turn like this, but I am hoping that the author comes up with good results with the next one.

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About

I am a 29 year old bookworm and I'm proud of it. I have a love of historical fiction and cozy mysteries, but I will read a lot of different genres as well. I love to read and love to get recommendations on books. You will always find me with my nose in a book.